When we are engaged in deep inner work, we need several things.

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Acceptance from those around us.

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Time and space to integrate.

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An environment that supports us.

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And the most essential thing we need is safety.

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Safety does not come from a locked door or a quiet neighborhood.

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It comes from the feeling we get when those around us accept us.

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We cultivate that feeling of safety from knowing that our community supports us and will allows us to be the way we are as we work through things.

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For they have been through the process themselves.

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So they know what it is to be vulnerable and scared.

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For when we are in the midst of doing the deep work to unwind our trauma it doesn't look pretty.

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It is messy and awkward and needs to be handled with care and compassion.

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And to feel safe in that space we need to know and feel that others have been there and can relate to what we are going through.

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If they haven't, there is just no way for them to understand.

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No matter how well meaning they may be.

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For us to be truly understood and supported in the way we need, it takes a level of understanding that only comes from experience.

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And that experience breeds compassion and acceptance in a deep and profound way.

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Only then can we feel safe to be vulnerable enough to dig deep and face the fact that we are hurt, in pain, scared to death, and afraid.

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To come face to face with the most terrifying aspects of our lives takes courage.

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But we can only get there when the safety of the container we work in is at the highest levels.

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True safety is the only thing that can allow us to be that vulnerable.

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It might be a little different for each of us, but we all know the feeling.

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We can recognize in an instant if we truly feel safe in our community or not, even if we do not consciously know.

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So many little things can break the safety of the container.

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We must be mindful of those things so we can show up not only for ourselves, but others as well.

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It is not an easy thing to decide to engage in this level of deep work.

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But the rewards are well worth it.

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The freedom, the joy, the peace we so long for are just on the other side of that work.

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Do you know what you need to feel safe enough to be vulnerable?

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Have you a community that can hold that space for you to do your dep inner work?

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~ Sam Liebowitz, The Conscious Consultant

Host of The Conscious Consultant Hour